


Don’t Worry (Angela Robinson Says We’ll Be Alright)

by TheValiant



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, DEBS AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheValiant/pseuds/TheValiant
Summary: There is a secret test hidden within the SAT. This test does not measure a student's aptitude at reading, writing, and arithmetic.It measures a student's innate ability to lie, cheat, fight and kill. Those who score well are recruited into a secret paramilitary academy.Some call them seductresses. Some call them spies. Fools call them innocent. They call themselves D.E.B.S.ORThe Supercorp DEBS AU that somehow heavily features Alex/Lucy
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Lucy Lane, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

Alex is up before the alarm starts blaring, J’onn’s voice shouting over the comms system as she opens Winn’s door. He’s more flustered than usual, head popping up from behind his bed to ask Alex if she’s seen his gun. She gives him her patented unimpressed stare.

“Five minutes.”

Lucy’s next, and if Alex puts a little extra force behind throwing the door open who can blame her. Predictably, Lucy is still a lump under her covers, hair sticking out at shocking angles, one foot dangling off the side of the bed. 

“Lucy,” Alex says with absolutely no edge of whining in her voice, “Come on, J’onn is freaking out.” The alarm continues sounding in the background, J’onn’s voice cycling through increasingly urgent warnings as Alex rolls her eyes. Lucy grunts in response, starts moving under the covers. Alex pauses in the hallway, sticks her head back in the room. “And no hookups upstairs.” If she slams the door behind her, it’s just because she’s in a hurry. Still, she can’t help but hear a muffled thump, then Lucy’s sleep rough voice saying “And take your clothes with you! I don’t do laundry.” 

The hall phone rings, and _really?_ It’s 7am and Alex is fully prepared to take her frustration out on whoever is dumb enough to be calling right now. 

“DEBS, Danvers speaking.” She might have angled the phone to catch J’onns now screaming alarm. 

“Is Kara there?” and oh, of course it’s this idiot. Alex hangs up the phone, Kara’s dumb boyfriend should know better than to call the house line. 

Alex pops her head into Kara’s room just in time to see her comms watch light up. Kara frowns before answering “Seriously Mike this is not a good time.” Kara’s tone and words have every one of Alex’s big sister senses tingling. It’s definitely because of that she fully steps into Kara’s room, and not because she heard Lucy’s door slam behind her. She quirks an eyebrow as Kara meets her gaze, but all Kara does is shake her head in response. Alex can hear Mike whine something but Kara just hangs up the comm. 

Alex has never, ever seen Kara hang up on someone. She wants to ask more, but the alarm is getting perilously close to J’onn’s screaming countdown. At least Winn found his gun, and all four DEBS are finally locked and loaded (even if Lucy’s uniform is wrinkled and her shirt only half buttoned. That’s Lucy’s problem and Alex doesn’t care. She _doesn’t_.) 

Kara’s comm phone rings again on the way down the stairs, and Kara _growls_ at it, and okay this is a sister conversation that’s going to have to happen sooner than later. Kara answers and cuts immediately into Mike’s ramble “Please stop calling. Goodbye Mike.” Kara hangs up the comm and doesn’t answer when it starts ringing again. 

Alex manages to wait until they’re all situated in the Wrangler, top down under the bright National City sunlight (until Kara is trapped and can’t escape her questioning. She is squad leader for a _reason_ ) to ask “So, Mike?” 

Kara’s infamous crinkle appears so quickly Alex would laugh if she weren’t a little worried. 

Kara mumbles something too quietly to hear over the wind and the truly excellent 90s pop radio station but Lucy pipes up from the back seat, “Mike fucking sucks.” Which is one thing Alex and Lucy can agree on. If their eyes briefly meet in the rearview and Lucy smirks and Alex quickly redirects it’s because she’s worried about her sister.

“What was that, Supergirl?” Kara huffs, either at being prodded or the use of the nickname she doesn’t exactly love. 

“We broke up.” Kara is still mumbling, still has her trademark crinkle, but she sounds _sure_. She sounds more like herself than she has since they started dating. 

Winn, traitor that he is, has the audacity to say “Aw, but he’s so cute!” Alex is a very safe driver and always keeps her eyes on the road but she can still reach back to slap Winn upside the head. Lucy might snort out a laugh, but it’s not like Alex is paying that much attention so who knows for sure. 

“Good.” Kara still looks, well not _sad_ , but, like maybe Alex could add a _little_ sensitivity to her approach. “Are you okay?” Alex’s face grows dark. “Did he do something? I can make sure they never find his body.” From other sisters that might be a platitude but Alex _would_. And she’s got the training for it. 

“No, no nothing like that. Just. Y’know.” Alex does not know. The rest of the sentence is lost as Alex takes the turn to Noonan’s on 3 wheels, Winn yelping and Lucy cussing and okay _, maybe_ Alex is not, actually, the safest driver. 

Lucy glares at Alex but addresses Kara “I don’t know, so spill.” 

Kara’s answer coincides perfectly with Alex cutting the radio, so when she says “I just want to be in love!” it’s loud enough to turn heads across the parking lot. Winn looks like he can’t decide whether to be confused or concerned when he asks “Why are you yelling?” Kara makes a noise that can’t rightfully be called words as she flings open the door and scrambles out. 

Lucy does not need to use Alex’s shoulder as leverage to hop right over the side of the jeep, but that doesn’t stop her doing it. Alex definitely does not feel every single point of contact between them or notice that Lucy has had her skirt shortened an absolutely unfair amount. It’s fine. Kara finally broke up with Mike, there are pancakes and coffee in her immediate future, which will probably cover up the smell of Lucy’s stupid perfume.

Kara has a head start to the door but Alex manages to catch her and pull her into a tight hug, whispers “sister time later” and kisses her temple. They might be elite special agents but Alex will always be a big sister first. Kara doesn’t say anything, but she does squeeze Alex so tightly she wheezes before letting go. 

  
  


Noonan’s is the same as always, DEBS plaid covering every vertical surface, DEBS tucked into corners studying (or crying, there’s a lot of crying over pastries during finals). Alex slides into the center booth beside J’onn and Lucy slides in right next to her. 

The waitress is there before Winn has even had a chance to sit and Alex jumps at the opportunity for sweet, sweet carbohydrates. Kara beats her to it, because of course she does.

“Can I get a farmer’s daughter tall stack, over easy, extra bacon, and a sticky bun please?” Kara aims her megawatt smile at the waitress, who, like everyone who has ever met Kara, is halfway in love with her. Watching people blush and grin at her sister is kind of gross, kind of funny, but often useful so Alex doesn’t complain. Kara gets a lot of free pastries, and sometimes she shares. 

“Same. And a coffee.” 

Winn orders some tofu smoothie that Alex would really rather not contemplate at this hour. Lucy asks for “Coffee. Black.” Alex narrows her eyes, if Lucy thinks she’s going to steal her sticky bun she’s got another thing coming.

Sometimes Alex wonders how deep J’onn’s patience runs. Outside of the pre-programmed DEBS alarms, she has never seen him raise his voice, never seen his face anything but calm and impassive. She’s seen him smile exactly twice, when Kara earned her stripes and when Lucy and Alex earned theirs. So she’s a little concerned that _he_ looks concerned, waiting for the waitress to be safely out of earshot before he begins.

“We have a special guest with us today.” He pauses, letting it linger. “Ms. Grant.”

Kara almost chokes on her water. “Ms. Grant never comes down here!” Alex is torn between curiosity and delight, Kara’s cheeks are already red and she’s refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. She knows absolutely none of them have forgotten her drunken monologue on the many virtues of one Cat Grant. 

The telltale chime of the DEBS teleporter forestalls any further conversation as Ms. Grant herself steps out of the portal. Alex is always surprised by how slight she is. Her presence in the lives of the DEBS (and in the international intelligence community) is so massive it’s hard to imagine it all being contained in such a small person. 

Kara manages not to stutter at all when she meets Ms. Grant’s eyes and says, “It is _such_ a pleasure to see you.”

Ms. Grant lets her eyes linger briefly on Kara, and Alex is almost positive she sees a smile, although there is no humor in her response.

“No time for pleasantries.” She looks to J’onn, but Alex sees Kara’s crestfallen face and feels a pang of sympathy. “Mr. Jonzz, a matter of some urgency has come to my attention.” Dramatic pauses must be included in the DEBS leadership training manual. “Lena Luthor is back in the states.”

The news sparks audible reactions from the whole table. Lucy and Alex’s tandem “Oh shit,” Winn whispering “oh my god.” Kara’s reaction isn’t shock, but a bright, “I’m writing my thesis on her!” which brings a longer look from Ms. Grant, this one more appraising. Kara perks up under the attention, straightening up from her slouch and bringing her shoulders back. It doesn’t last long. Ms. Grant turns back to J’onn to say “I expect to be kept in the loop on this one” before teleporting back to… wherever it is that Ms. Grant teleports back to. 

In the stunned silence following Ms. Grant’s abrupt departure, J’onn clicks on a holographic slide. Luthor is rarely sloppy enough to be caught on camera, the picture on the screen is blurry and from a strange angle. Even so, Alex is momentarily surprised by how _pretty_ the woman is. And how young. 

“Lena Luthor, last surviving member of the Luthor crime syndicate. Her family did battle with the Lords in a vicious blood feud that lasted a decade. After her brother died, she inherited the keys to the kingdom. Illegal arms running, smuggling, gambling, and her specialty, diamond theft.” 

J’onn clicks a button and Lena’s face is replaced with a handsome, grinning man. It looks like a LinkedIn headshot. She’s almost as curious about where this picture came from as she is about the man behind it. 

“She’s protected by a loyal band of mercenaries, led by this man, Jack Spheer. It is believed that Lena Luthor was behind the Myriad plot in 2018. Three attempts have been made to apprehend her, all failed. She went underground after the Myriad incident and has not been heard from since.”

Winn puffs out his cheeks. “Yikes.”

“That’s not even the worst part,” Lucy says, grinning at him, eyes sparkling with challenge (not that Alex is paying any attention, whatever). Winn gulps. 

“What’s the worst part?” He asks, eyes shifting around the table. Lucy leans forward to whisper conspiratorially.

“Nobody has ever fought her,” Lucy pauses. Alex is really, really tired of dramatic pauses and it is only 7:30 in the morning. “And lived to tell about it.” 

The drama of the moment is ruined when the waitress drops off their breakfast, plates and cups clattering to the table. Kara wastes absolutely no time in tearing into her pancakes. Lucy waits for Alex to start in on her own before reaching over to grab the sticky bun from her plate. Alex is fully prepared to use every one of her elite DEBS skills to recoup the pastry, but is distracted by Kara, talking with her mouth full. (Definitely not because Lucy winked at her, smug is not a good look on _thieves,_ Lane).

“Why’s she back in town?” J’onn somehow ignores her talking through her food. Maybe he’s gotten used to it after four years. Alex has had 10 and it still grosses her out. 

“Intel suggests she’s here to meet this woman.” A striking blonde replaces Jack on the holograph. “Leslie Willis.”

Winn puts down his tofu smoothie. “Wait. Leslie Willis like Livewire Leslie Willis? Didn’t we put her in jail last year?”

“She had a good lawyer. Got out on appeal last month. They’re scheduled to meet tonight, 1900 hours. Find out what Lena is up to. Surveillance only. I don’t want to see any heroics.” He glares at each of them in turn, landing on Alex.

“Alex, you’re in charge. Lucy, you’re second.” He looks around the table once more, and his face softens. “and DEBS? Be careful.” He teleports out before Alex or Lucy can complain about their duty assignments, leaving the DEBS with the opp information. Kara is studying the folder intently, interested enough that she has mostly stopped eating. 

“What does a reclusive criminal mastermind want with a murderous meta-human?”


	2. Chapter 2

Jack made some changes to the Luthor Lair in Lena’s extended absence. The place had been designed by Lex, military grade everything, including the drab colors. Lena’s only been back in National City a week and she’s spent almost all of that time in the beautifully upgraded lab. She can see Jess’s deft touches as well - ergonomic chairs in the lab, plants that she claims are for experiments but are definitely there to brighten long days (and nights) at her station. She doesn’t mind their meddling, generally. She can’t complain about the results.

The mercenary crew has taken to calling themselves L Corp. That was probably Jack’s doing, he thinks he’s much funnier than he is. But they do seem to enjoy being here. More than she ever remembers Lex’s goons being, anyway. Maybe because nobody on this crew seems like a goon. When she left Jack and Jess in charge of the whole operation, she didn’t really care what they’d do with it. She had enough liquid assets to fund her extended vacation (she was  _ not  _ hiding from the world because Veronica Sinclair broke her heart. Who would be stupid enough to love Roulette. She just… was upset by the way the Myriad project ended. When she set Lex up to be apprehended she didn’t expect him to turn it into a shoot out. She didn’t have a lot of love for her brother but she didn’t want him to  _ die _ , just to go to jail for a very long time. She definitely doesn’t spend much time wondering if it makes her a terrible person for not missing him, or Lillian, or Lionel. Sometimes she  _ does _ miss them, and that makes her feel worse.) 

Still, she didn’t expect them to brighten up the lair, to provide healthcare and retirement to the mercs, or to shift their criminal operations to straight up Robin Hood style wealth redistribution. She certainly wasn’t going to complain. She never wanted to be a criminal, but being “adopted” by the Luthors after her mother was caught in their crossfire didn’t give her much choice. But this? Running a high tech organization, defrauding robber barons, hacking servers to erase student loan debt, paying off gofundmes and sending anonymous donations to refugee services? She was fully prepared to disband the whole thing before she ran off to Iceland, but now she’s doing something that actually feels worth doing. 

So, meddling in the family business? Totally great, they should do more of it, clearly. Meddling in her personal life? She really wishes they would stop. 

Jack has pulled up a creepy, uncanny valley 3D projection of a woman with wild blonde hair and very intense eyes. He clicks a button and text pops up beside her head - Name, DOB, height, weight, arrest record. All the usual info. Lena already wants to walk away and Jack hasn’t even started speaking yet. 

“Leslie Willis. Shockingly talented meta-human. Recently released from supermax and ready to get back in the game.”

Lena hums noncommittally. 

“Meet is at 1900, Les Deux Amores. Trendy, yet discreet.”

Jack has always been able to outwait Lena’s silences, so she only waits a few moments before speaking.

“Cancel it.” Jack’s reaction is immediate and dramatic, throwing his head back and wailing “Jess! I need back up!”

Lena usually loves Jess’s habit of apparating seemingly out of nowhere, but right now she would give up the perfectly timed coffees for her not to be involved in this. She never wins when they gang up on her. 

“It’s been two years, Lena.” Jess starts, as if Lena has become unmoored from linear time and needs the reminder. “You need to get back out there.”

“Alternatively, I can get back in the lab and keep working on a literal cure for cancer. Which might be slightly more important than my love life.” Jess and Jack roll their eyes in unison.

“You deserve happiness Lena. You can’t just hide from the world forever.”

“I absolutely can. This lair is impenetrable, you made sure of it.” Lena thinks she has a formidable glare but she’s going to have to get some pointers from Jess later. “And besides, do you really think a deranged ex-con is going to bring me happiness? Can’t I just make the world a better place with my friends?” 

“Cute, love the flattery, you’re terrible at deflecting.” Jack’s still smiling, Lena really doesn’t know how he stays so stubbornly happy. “Besides, and I do hate to be the one to tell you this, darling, but seeing as you are, technically, a criminal, that does somewhat limit your dating pool.”

“Also, she was exonerated on appeal.” Jess adds, not at all helpfully. 

Lena sighs, pretends she doesn’t see her friends grinning at each other like they know they’ve won.

“Fine. I’ll give her ten minutes. You’ll keep the car running.”

Jess glares at her. “You will  _ at least _ get through appetizers before you bail. It wasn’t easy to set this up.”

“ _ Fine. _ Fine. But I’m going back to the lab until then and when it is a spectacular failure you will  _ promise _ no more blind dates.”

“Is it a blind date if you know what they look like?” Jess asks at the same time Jack says “I will make no such promise, you love my meddling.” His grin is nowhere near as winning as he thinks it is, but he does bring her a latte a few hours later. And Jess slides a kale salad under her microscope just as she realizes she skipped lunch, so they can stay for now. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a stakeout

Kara has always loved the DEBS tac suits. Not that she’s opposed to their regular uniform, but the tac suit has so many pockets! And once she’s loaded her gear she always has room for snacks (unlike Alex, who manages to stuff in a back-up gun, multiple knives, and some things she refers to only as “secret weapons”. Kara doesn’t want to know. Really.)

She is less fond of the DEBS stake out swings, but it could be worse. Mike was endlessly complaining about the Homeland Security tie offs. Kara was always secretly glad that their funding kept being cut, and hoped that President Marsden would just abolish the agency. Still, she thinks it would be nice to have her feet on solid ground while surveilling criminal masterminds.

Usually Kara is in the middle of the group, but today she’s on the far side. Lucy is on her left, with the sonic amplifier trained on a table where a blonde woman sits, fidgeting so much Kara can see it from here. Alex had shoved Winn in next (and Kara has let the heightening weirdness between Alex and Lucy go so far but she’s going to have to get to the bottom of this soon.) 

Lucy leans over to whisper, “I have that sweater,” nodding to where Livewire is picking at her bright pink sleeves. “But in teal.” It’s a cute sweater, and looks cozy. “Really? Where did you get it?” “Target!” Kara is about to ask if the sweater is as comfortable as it looks when Winn gasps, almost dropping the binoculars. Kara is not prepared for what she sees when she yanks them out of his hands to look for herself. Lena Luthor has just walked into the restaurant, and Lena Luthor is _gorgeous._

Kara is startled when Winn reaches across Lucy to try to grab the binoculars back, almost dropping them in the process. Kara starts sputtering objections but Lucy shushes them both, backed up by a glare from Alex. She looks back to the table but it’s too hard to tell what’s happening and she can’t hold back a “What are they saying?” 

Lucy shakes her head, “They’re talking about killing, who to kill, how to kill.” She frowns, and Kara is so busy trying to parse her expression that she doesn’t notice Mike has dropped down beside her until he clears his throat. She takes a deep breath before turning to him, too annoyed to even fake a smile. 

“What are you doing here” it’s a whisper, technically, but it’s sharp enough that Mike winces. He goes back to his default smug in the next moment, “Did you think you were the only ones here? It’s a packed house, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security,” Kara can hear Alex spit out a _sonofa_ as they both look around and see the other agents in position. Lucy has an excellent glare, but she has an absolutely devastating look of complete indifference with an air of openly unimpressed. That’s the look she levels at Mike when she asks “Ok, but why are you _here_ and not over there, with your team.” Mike pales, but sits up as straight as he can on the wobbly tie off.

“I needed to talk to Kara.” He nods to himself, or to Lucy, it’s unclear. Kara has managed a look almost as unimpressed as Lucy’s by the time he turns to her. “Now is not a good time, Mike. I asked you to leave me alone.” Mike deflates a little, and Kara can’t help but feel bad for him. “I _am_ sorry,” she says. It was apparently not the right thing to say. Mike’s eyebrows draw down and his mouth goes hard. “Whatever. I just want to get my dad’s Quantico bracelet back.” 

Winn’s eyes keep darting between the drama unfolding beside him and the drama at the table below. Whatever this meet is, it does not look like it’s going well. Livewire keeps leaning forward, eyes even wilder than he remembers, and Luthor looks ready to bolt. 

Kara is struggling with the bracelet, and when Mike reaches over to start fumbling with it himself it falls off, tumbling in slow motion directly into Lena Luthor’s soup. Luthor freezes, then lifts her spoon out of the bowl, and yup that’s the bracelet alright. She looks up slowly, and Kara doesn’t need binoculars to see the Oh Shit come over her face. 

Alex immediately gives the go command, all 4 DEBS dropping their lines down and sliding to the ground floor of the restaurant, where the other agents have already started a fire fight, apparently not at all worried about the civilians surrounding them. The DEBS hit the ground running, Alex quickly flipping a table for cover as Lena Luthor pops her head over the bar and spots them. 

“Kara, take Winn around the service entry to block her exit. Lucy and I will push her towards you. Keep on comms, and be careful.” Amid the chaos of bullets and screams Kara doesn’t really notice the dull thud until Winn squeaks out an “Uh… you guys??” Kara almost never freezes up on an opp, but staring at a live grenade seems to have bypassed her training and all she can do is gape at it in horror. Luckily, Lucy has a much more aggressive reaction. She snatches the grenade and hurls it back where it came from, adding a _motherfucker_ for good measure. 

There’s a pause in fire after the grenade goes off, and the DEBS use it to start moving into position. Alex vaults over the table, Lucy close behind. Kara doesn’t have to see them to know Alex is flip locking her gun in a move she practiced way more than she would admit to because it’s _badass, Kara_.

Kara and Winn duck and run in the opposite direction. They skirt quickly along the wall, rushing towards the kitchen. There’s a brief spray of gunfire that Kara is pretty sure the FBI just aimed at the CIA, but she didn’t get this far as a DEB letting that kind of shit distract her. They crash through the doors into the kitchen, where some front of house staff are hiding while the line cooks seem happy for the distraction. Kara had studied the restaurant plans before the mission, and she _knows_ which door leads to the exit. Except apparently she does _not_ , because the door she and Winn crash through has them spilling downstairs and into some… basement, warehouse, thing. What kind of restaurant is this? 

Kara groans. “Winn, go back up and cover the other door. I’ll clear this and make sure there isn’t an exit.” Winn doesn’t immediately head back up the stairs, so Kara makes a helpful, hurrying motion. She does not want to be responsible for Alex’s mood if Lena escapes, _plus_ it would ruin sister night. He finally says, “Uhm, J’onn said not to engage?” He tilts the end of the sentence up, like a question, but it’s the closest she’s seen Winn come to putting his foot down. 

“Okay, but that was before it turned into a full fledged fire fight!” Kara doesn’t want to be mean to Winn but they need to be moving like, yesterday. “Go to the other exit. Keep in comms. Don’t let her get away.” Winn looks like he wants to argue but Kara _really_ wants a peaceful night with her sister, to complain about her break up and eat ice cream and watch shitty TV and that is not gonna happen if they let Luthor escape. So she says “go!” and turns towards the long, kinda creepy hallway. 

She has her gun up, listening hard as she clears the hallway. Her heart is thundering in her chest, which is a little weird, usually she’s super calm during missions. Something about this situation feels off, and it makes Kara speed up as the hall takes a sharp turn. She collides, _hard_ , with someone and barely manages to avoid eating shit, almost faceplants when she over corrects and is already apologizing before she even looks up. 

She ran into, apparently, another woman, also dusting herself off and apologizing. The woman meets her eyes and wow, her eyes are _beautiful_ and then, “it’s you!” and “oh shit!” ring out at the same time they raise their guns. In a standoff with Lena Luthor was not on the list of things Kara had expected tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things:
> 
> 1) Thanks so much for all the comments and kudos! This is the first writing I've done in years and I'm glad people are enjoying it.
> 
> 2) It's already pretty AU from DEBS canon and it's only going to get more AU from here bc I am beholden to neither man nor canon. 
> 
> 3) Really hope y'all are staying safe out there, these are scary times. Fic is making my social distancing less awful and I hope you are all finding ways to (safely) connect. You can catch me on tumblr at ValiantLucy, I haven't been posting much but that's likely to change now I'm stuck in my house indefinitely.


	4. Chapter 4

Lena Luthor has never been more grateful for incompetant law enforcement than she is right now. Yeah, it’s annoying that she was being surveilled, and she’s definitely going to have to talk to Jack about that. And if this dress gets any holes in it she’s going to be  _ pissed _ . But all in all, a shootout is better than this date. 

Still, she’s not interested in being arrested any more than she was in the very, very angry blonde that threw the very not sexy kind of sparks. Lena taps her earpiece, and Jess was  _ absolutely _ spying because she’s ready with an exit path immediately. She can deal with the breach of privacy later, she thinks, as she lobs a grenade towards a group of Feds. She takes off towards the kitchen, hears the grenade explode much more closely behind her than she expected. 

She’d been hoping to slip by unnoticed, but the kitchen is crowded and she has to do a little ducking and weaving to get to the right door. Leave it to Jess to book a restaurant with a secret exit for a blind date, maybe she can be forgiven for the spying and the meddling. Although actually, Lena frowns, she wouldn’t be here at all if not for the meddling, so maybe that’s a no on forgiveness. She gets a burst of static in her comm right as she’s gearing up to expound on that exact point to Jess. Lena picks up her pace, hoping the comms come back in or, better yet, she runs out a door and into a getaway car. 

Luck is really not on her side tonight. 

She takes a sharp turn and slams into another body, barely avoids a harder collision with the ground. She’s apologizing without even noticing, really, brushing herself off and trying not to wince at the pain in her ribs where they collided. When she finally looks up she’s caught off guard, this woman is too handsome to be real. That stunned feeling lasts exactly as long as it takes for her to notice the tac suit and the gun.

“oh shit” ”It’s you!” They have their guns trained on each other, and Lena’s eyes go back and forth between the girl’s gun, and the girl. 

“You have the right to remain silent.” she starts. She doesn’t sound sure of herself, and given the situation that seems fair. Lena can’t help responding, “Are you seriously reading me my rights right now?” The girl stares at her, then bites her lip and glances quickly down and back. 

“Okay the thing is, I’m really not up for dying today.” She blurts.

Lena lets out a relieved sigh. “Yeah, me neither.” 

The girl grins. “Great! So … why don’t you go ahead and put your gun down.” 

Lena frowns. “Why don’t you put _your_ gun down?” 

The girl swallows, shrugs. “Well. I’m a cop, and you’re a criminal, sooooo?” 

“Except I was minding my own business on some stupid blind date when you guys decided to rain shit all over me!”

The DEB lowers her gun to her hip, cocks her head to the side and looks  _ exactly _ like the puppy Lena was never allowed to have. “Wait, you were on a date? With  _ Livewire? _ ”

Lena eyes the gun, lets her own drop a little in response. The DEB looks like she’s waiting for a response but Lena doesn’t have one to give her, so she lets the silence linger while she gives her an appraising once over. 

“That totally torpedos my thesis.” 

“I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ”

“oh, I’m uh, writing my thesis on you?” This is a lot of information that Lena really does not know what to do with. DEBS write theses? A DEB is writing a thesis on  _ her?  _ The way the girl turns the sentence up at the end doesn’t help, like she’s not totally sure about what she’s saying either. 

She warms up to it though, “It’s for my class, Capes and Capers: Gender Reconstruction and the Criminal Mastermind.” Lena must look unimpressed because she adds “It’s a really popular class!” 

Lena can’t help the laugh that escapes, leftover anxiety from the shootout, very current anxiety of gun pointed at her, and sheer absurdity of what the person at the other end of said gun just said.

This does not dissuade her from continuing. She looks so painfully earnest. “But it’s really hard, because there’s only anecdotal evidence. No one has ever spoken to you.”

This strange, handsome DEB won’t stop staring at her and okay she still has a gun more or less aimed at her but Lena has had worse introductions. 

“Until now” Lena  _ knows _ she has a devastating smirk,  _ knows _ the deep red lipstick Jess talked her into is working in her favor. The girl drops her head and yeah, that is  _ definitely _ a blush.

“Until now,” she echoes. Neither of them notice the comms watch lighting up on Kara’s wrist.

Lena lets out a brief hmm. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.” She extends a hand, “I’m Lena Luthor.”

The girl grins in response, tucking her gun under her arm to take Lena’s hand. “Kara Danvers.” She lets the handshake linger, Kara’s hand is warm and soft and she finds herself in no hurry to end the connection. Maybe the DEBS have gotten their hands on some kind of biological agent. Lena’s pretty sure her heart shouldn’t be beating this fast, and she’s very sure she shouldn’t be thinking about this DEB’s eyes  _ sparkling _ when she smiles. 

Kara finally pulls her hand back. Her smile is so disarming Lena almost misses her saying, “You’re still, y’know, under arrest.” 

Lena raises an eyebrow, leans forward well into Kara’s personal space, “Am I?”

Kara visibly gulps, and  _ how _ is Lena so attracted to this  _ nerd _ . She leans up to whisper “Nice to meet you, Kara Danvers” against her ear, using her distraction to slip a little present into the pocket of her tac suit. 

The door slams at the end of the hall. Kara jumps out of her trance, deeply grateful that Alex was not there to see it. She turns to Lena, ready to finish reading her her rights, but she’s … gone. 

Alex and Lucy come storming around the corner, clearing the hallway while Kara gawps at the space Lena so recently and abruptly vacated. There is absolutely nowhere she could have gone. There is no place to hide. There is no way she just  _ disappeared _ . If she had the same teleporters Ms. Grant and J’onn do, why didn’t she just use it during the shoot out. Kara’s mind is racing with possibilities. 

Alex shakes her out of it, firm hand on her shoulder and tensed for a fight. “Are you okay? We couldn’t reach you.”

It takes a second for Kara’s mind to catch up. She’s a little breathless when she turns to Alex and whisper yells “She was here! Lena Luthor was here!”

Alex’s face drops immediately. “That’s impossible.” 

“Yeah. You’re still alive.” Lucy’s eyes are searching though, like she’s trying to find some sign of the truth on Kara. Kara runs her hands to her hips in frustration and feels something there. When she pulls the diamond out of her pocket she laughs, a little hysterically. Alex and Lucy have almost identical expressions of concern, so she takes in a breath and tries to will herself calm. 

Winn comes running up just in time for Kara to show them all what’s in her hand, what Lena Luthor left for her. The dawning comprehension coming over the group feels like a deep inhale, and Kara hopes it’s not going to burst out in shouts. 

It’s Winn who breaks the silence, reaching out to inspect the diamond more closely before whispering. “Lena Luthor was here.” He looks up at Kara, and a kind of hushed awe colors his voice. “You faced Lena Luthor and  _ lived _ !” 


End file.
